40 years ago: Beer sales in Kansas Union still debated

The Lawrence City Commission deferred action on the issue of beer sales in the Kansas Union. Earlier, the Student Union at Kansas University had submitted an application for a license to sell 3.2 percent beer. Several people had made speeches before the commission. The Rev. Dick Taylor of Topeka, president of Kansas United Dry Forces, had aired his opinion that the board of regents had been bypassed on the proposal, adding that beer was the "number one drug problem in the nation."

Long lines were forming after school and on weekends in a local park. Children were eager to use the spiral slide that had recently been installed in the portion of South Park adjacent to St. John's School. A front-page photo showed several schoolchildren enjoying the polished slide.